Smashed

This unique take on sobriety is less concerned with the ravages of alcoholism or the trauma of recovery as it is in presenting a portrait of character and a marriage and exploring what is lost and gained when one partner gives up drinking and the other does not. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, last seen starring in the 2011 remake/prequel The Thing and featured in a lot of other genre films (Deathproof, Life Free or Die Hard, Scot Pilgrim vs. the World) flexes some terrific acting chops in this restrained but emotional performance. The rest of the cast, including a few big names, isn’t quite at the level she is in this film, but a film like this wins or looses with the central performance and Smashed is a big win. The film deals with alcoholism the way 2010’s Rabbit Hole dealt with the loss of child--in a restrained and non-melodramatic way. There isn’t a lot new to say about sobriety so Smashed avoids saying what’s already been said over and over and focuses on what its like to come to realizations about oneself and make choices, making it a worthy entry into the recovery genre.